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It’s tough to ask for much more from Lost lately. The last few weeks have been incredibly enlightening, and when they haven’t answered those dangling questions that have kept us hanging for the past 6 years, they’ve at least provided great setup, proving that those questions will definitely be addressed. While we don’t have any answer as to what caused the flash-sideways, or if there was actual a cause at all, they’ve nonetheless managed to be an intriguing addition to the show.

First, I’m beginning to question whether the flash-sideways are in fact caused by the smoke monster (we currently know him in the form of John Locke (Terry O’Quinn)). Granted, this would discount my previous theory on the cause of the flash-sideways. Evidence of this mainly occurs in episode 6, focusing on Sayid (Naveen Andrews). Sayid meets Locke in the woods, where Locke tells him he could have anything he wanted, even the one thing Sayid claims is gone forever (Nadia). In the flash-sideways, Nadia is alive, but the hangup is that she is married to her brother…he doesn’t have her. Similarly, Ben’s (Michael Emerson) flash-sideways shows him as a lowly History teacher, but he is a great mentor for his student Alex (or his daughter from the island). When given the chance to blackmail the principal but the principal in turn threatens to keep Alex from getting into the college of her choice, Ben puts what Alex wants before his own aspirations. In Sawyer’s (Josh Holloway) flash-sideways, he carries all the same baggage, but rather than become a con-man, he’s a cop.

The flash-sideways may be part of a deal the smoke monster offers some of the characters, but him causing them simply hasn’t happened yet. He seems to need people to get off the island, and maybe this is part of a deal he forges with them, but unfortunately, what everyone wants comes with strings attached. Sayid wants Nadia to be alive, but he doesn’t have her. Ben wants a second chance with his daughter, but it means he is unimportant. Sawyer is a cop (similar to his role as Head of Security for Dharma, which seemed to be the happiest time of his life), but he’s still tortured by his past. Now it’s more than likely that this theory is completely wrong, so I digress.

But hey, the flash-sideways haven’t been the only interesting part of the show. It was a big shocker to see that Sayid has indeed succumbed to the darkness. Same goes for Claire (Emilie de Ravin), she’s pretty psycho, and both are currently aligned with Locke, who claims he just wants to leave the island. Being that he attacked the Temple (more…)

Lost has officially kicked off its 6th and final season. If you’ve been waiting for answers, this is where they’ll finally arrive, but show creators Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse won’t make it easy. Just as flashbacks and flash-forwards have been used, they’ve now introduced the concept of flash-sideways…yup, this show is now operating with two different realities.

The premiere opened with a very familiar flight hitting some familiar turbulence, but surprisingly, the flight did not crash, and more importantly, revealed a shot of Jacob’s statue…submerged under water. In the other reality, the losties were back in the present, all around the familiar site where Desmond (Henry Ian Cusick) blew the hatch up, under the impression that the plan cooked up by Faraday (Jeremy Davies) and Jack (Matthew Fox) did not work. Or did it?

Thanks to our friends at MrMet.net for verbalizing this theory, and putting some things in perspective. We could argue that, as Juliet (Elizabeth Mitchell) says, “It worked,” because the hydrogen bomb may have actually saved the island by helping neutralize the electromagnetic energy beneath the Swan station. We could reasonably say that this was the incident Dr. Chang (Francois Chau) referred to in the Swan station video, causing them to need to press the button every 108 minutes. What may have caused the island to sink was drilling too deep into the wall containing the electromagnetic energy. Had Jack and the rest of the losties sat back in 1977 and done nothing, (more…)

All right, wrapping up the complete Lost journey is of course, season 5, which holds one the biggest cliffhangers of all. It’s 1977 and Jack (Matthew Fox), Sawyer (Josh Holloway), Kate (Evangeline Lilly), and the rest of the gang attempt to blow up the Swan Station, and stop it from ever causing Flight 815 to crash on the island. Wait…what? We’ll back up to the beginning.

Season 4 left off with the Oceanic 6 leaving the island, forced to lie about what happened because the island vanished, as Ben (Michael Emerson) and Locke (Terry O’Quinn) moved it to protect it from Charles Widmore (Alan Dale).  Yeah, that doesn’t make things any less confusing really…season 5 gets pretty weird. Sure, the island moved, but somehow the island became dislodged in time, causing the remaining survivors to experience violent time shifts. Making matters worse, the shifts eventually had the potential to cause brain aneurysms.

This really gave Daniel Faraday (Jeremy Davies) a great chance to shine in the season. Early on, Faraday stepped up, understanding the predicament and attempting to resolve it. He played a significant role not only in helping his friends survive the time shifts (for the most part…), but ultimately became the driving force for the finale’s events. Yup, it was he who showed up with the grand scheme of changing the past, despite his previous theory that whatever happened happened.

Granted, Faraday wasn’t the only character who stepped up this season. With some of the key leaders getting off the island, namely Jack, Kate, and Sayid (Naveen Andrews), those remaining looked to Sawyer…and he certainly stepped up.  Sure, Faraday put some logic to the time shifts, but Sawyer got his people safely into the Dharma Initiative. Sure, they were stuck in 1974, but what else were they supposed to do while (more…)

Lost’s fourth season pretty much picked up right where season 3’s finale cliffhanger left off. Yes, there is a freighter anchored just off the island, but are they really there on a rescue mission? Furthermore, there is the dilemma that apparently the remains of Oceanic 815 have been found at the bottom of the ocean…who planted it there? And, whereas Jack’s flash-forward at the end of season 3 was a bold twist, flash-forwards are crucial in season 4, cluing us in on who left the island and who stayed behind.

Not only does this season see a major divide in the principle cast, Jack (Matthew Fox) leading those who want to be rescued, and Locke (Terry O’Quinn) leading those who believe the freighter is there to harm them, and go into hiding back at the Others’ barracks. A chopper from the freighter arrives on the island introducing new characters to the fold that include mentally unstable physicist Daniel Faraday (Jeremy Davies),  hot-headed paranormal medium Miles Straume (Ken Leung), mysterious archaeologist Charlotte Lewis (Rebecca Mader), and conspiracy-theorist pilot Frank Lapidus (Jeff Fahey).

As the season’s events unfold, it is slowly revealed that Jack, Kate (Evangeline Lilly), Sayid (Naveen Andrews), Hurley (Jorge Garcia), Sun (Yunjin Kim), and Claire’s son Aaron make it home, dubbed the Oceanic Six. But the flash-forwards reveal that getting off the island is not the end of the story, and ultimately the characters realize that they need to go back to the island to save everyone they left behind. More importantly, it is revealed that the Oceanic Six have been living a lie since returning home, and this is all to protect those still on the island.

Throughout the short season, details are revealed about the freighter, mostly revolving around the fact that it belongs to Charles Widmore (Alan Dale), a character who has generally been linked to Desmond (Henry Ian Cusick) in flashbacks, but apparently Widmore has some sort of history with the island, making him far more integral to the overall story. Furthermore, season 4 hones in on a rivalry between Widmore and Benjamin Linus (Michael Emerson). Widmore has sent the freighter not only to find (more…)

After Lost’s second season really heated things up and delivered one hell of cliffhanger finale, season 3 finally gave us a proper introduction to the Others, focused on answering some long awaited questions, and gave us more of those character driven episodes that made season 1 so great. Picking up where season 2 left off, Jack (Matthew Fox), Kate (Evangeline Lilly), and Sawyer (Josh Holloway) were now held captive at the Others camp, which is apparently a well-to-do neighborhood of barracks with running water, electricity, a book club, and a rec room. Basically, the Others’ leader Benjamin Linus (Michael Emerson), better known as Henry Gale from season 2, has a tumor in his spine and needs Jack to fix that, and uses Kate and Sawyer as leverage. Also introduced is Juliet (Elizabeth Mitchell), a sympathetic Other who bonds with Jack and also wants nothing more than to get off the island.

Meanwhile, back at the beach the rest of the survivors start living in a post-hatch world, since destroying it in season 2’s finale. Having turned the key that destroyed the hatch and releasing an electromagnetic energy, Desmond (Henry Ian Cusick) plays a pivotal role throughout the season having visions of the future. In particular, these visions have to do with Charlie (Dominic Monaghan) dying, and while he consistently manages to save Charlie’s life, they both are forced to face the fact that no matter what they do, Charlie will die. This storyline is crucial to themes that come later on in seasons 4 and 5 about fate and destiny.

It’s also important to note that Nikki (Kiele Sanchez) and Paulo (Rodrigo Santoro) were introduced and subsequently killed off by mid-season, and are considered one of the worst decisions the writers ever made. They were introduced as a means of acknowledging that there were at least 30 or so other survivors in the background, and sort of flesh out what those other survivors have been up to all this time, while also bringing new faces into the fold, but something about them just didn’t quite fit. Most blamed the backlash due to the treatment of their introduction to the show as being too sudden, but I think it was more so that they simply were not given enough to do and therefore their presence as part of the cast seemed pointless.

There were certainly some standout episodes. Early in the season, an Eko-centric (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje)episode focused on him confessing his sins, repenting for the things he had done, and essentially being judged by the smoke monster, something Ben would later do in season 5. Ultimately, he refuses (more…)

Whereas season 1 of Lost brought this wide range of characters together, season 2 not only thickens the plot and the mysteries of the island, but from a character standpoint, it isolates them. This season takes the characters and boils them down to their cores. In a way, it even tortures and pushes many of them to the edge, an edge we did not know existed back in season 1.

New characters are introduced when Michael (Harold Perrineau), Sawyer (Josh Holloway), and Jin (Daniel Dae Kim) wash ashore on the Tailies’ beach and trek across the island to reunite with the rest of the Oceanic 815 survivors. These new characters include Ana Lucia (Michelle Rodriguez), Libby (Cynthia Watros), and Mr. Eko (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje). Unfortunately, these new introductions to the cast instigated the abrupt death of Shannon (Maggie Grace), when Ana Lucia mistakenly shoots her in the jungle. Bummer.

I can’t say I really liked Shannon, but in a lot of ways I felt she good have been really great had she stuck around. With so many characters having  long back stories, it would have been interesting to see a younger character on the show significantly grow and change in the context of the events, and the spoiled leggy blonde growing into a tougher and more useful character would have been a good opportunity for that.

Personal thoughts aside, Shannon’s death triggered a great deal of season 2 events. Ana Lucia spent much of the season as an outcast dealing with the blood on her hands.  And as for Sayid (Naveen Andrews), he grew into a darker (more…)

What better time to go back and re-watch Lost from the beginning than right before the final season? Supposedly, this will be where the road ends, tying up the questions we’ve been asking for six years. Needless to say, watching season 1 is refreshingly easy. The only questions we’re forced to grapple with are what the hell is that monster chasing the losties through the jungle and what could be in that damn hatch? Outside of that, it’s just a real kick getting know these characters and piecing together each of their sordid pasts.

What was great about season 1 is that it really focused on the importance of characters. Sure, many viewers stuck around for 5 years because they desperately just have to know the answers to their burning questions, but ultimately, fans stuck around because Lost has one hell of a cast of characters to follow. More than that, it’s great to see the dynamics between these characters, and season 1 is responsible for providing a strong introduction to who these characters are, where they’ve been, what they’ve been through, and the relationships they form with one another.

It’s in season 1 where Jack (Matthew Fox) and Sawyer (Josh Holloway) first form their rivalry [mostly revolving around Kate (Evangeline Lilly)] yet also become reluctant allies. Similarly, Jack and Locke (Terry O’Quinn) emerge as leaders with distinctly different opinions on their survival. As for the other characters, they all deal with their respective problems and pasts, while also dealing with their new circumstances of survival. Kate is a fugitive trying to hide her past, Charlie (Dominic Monaghan) is a has-been rock star trying to (more…)

Gettin’ up to date on the past two episodes of “Lost,” the focus has primarily been dealing with the return of Jack, Kate, Hurley, Sayid, and Sun…and how this could potentially and royally *&$% things up for Sawyer. We last left off with the reunion in the valley between Sawyer, Jack, Hurley, Kate, and Jin, but now Sawyer finds himself in the awkward position of figuring out a way to integrate his old friends into the Dharma Initiative, and having a good cover for where exactly they came from. This could prove difficult. And Sayid getting captured doesn’t help things…

Very briefly, we got to see the actual crash that occurred with Flight 316, and Frank turned out to be a hell of a pilot. This crash was not nearly as ugly as Flight 815, in fact, technically, he did manage to land the plane…roughly…but in one piece at least. Once there, Sun (inexplicably, she is the only one of the Oceanic 6, minus Aaron, that was not warped into the past) sees Ben rushing off into the woods. She follows, and when he confronts her, he tells her he is going to the main island to find his people, and she is more than welcome to join him. Frank follows, and tries to convince Sun otherwise, pleading that his entire freighter was sent to kill this guy and he can’t be trusted. Ultimately, Sun knocks out Ben with an ore, which is what I assume lands him in the makeshift recovery ward that Locke finds him in (like, 4 episodes ago?). Frank and Sun then take a canoe and head for the main island.

Once Sawyer gets over reuniting with some old friends, he rushes back to the barracks to dig up some clothes for them to wear. Apparently a submarine is due in that day, and the only explanation he’ll have to cover up where Jack, Kate, and Hurley came from is by making it look like they’re a group of new arrivals. We also learn that Faraday has apparently left, maybe to join Richard Alpert? Nothing more is said on that. He fills in Juliet, who goes to see Amy, who is usually in charge of the manifest for the submarine (At this point, Amy reveals that they will name the baby Ethan). Juliet tweaks the manifest at the last minute, and probably solved and namaste, Jack, Kate, and Hurley are in. Jack is assigned as a workman (by none other than Pierre Chang/Marvin Candle of Dharma video fame), Kate is assigned as a mechanic, and Hurley is assigned as a chef. Life’s good, and there’s an old fashioned Dharma barbeque to welcome the newbies.

Elsewhere, Jin has gone to see Radzinsky, who watches the surveillance videos of the island. He is determined to find where the plane crashed, and thereby find Sun, but Radzinsky insists that there is no plane that crashed. There was an alert of a hostile in the perimeter, so he and Radzinsky rushed off to find the hostile…who turned out to be Sayid. Unfortunately, with Radzinsky there, Jin could not help Sayid, and had to take him into custody.

Back in the present, Sun and Frank found themselves at the barracks, where they were confronted by Christian. Uh-oh, this never bodes well. Christian brought them to see the others, but it turned out that all he had to show them was a Dharma picture from 1977, where Sun saw all her friends. Sun is officially the only person who can ever justifiably say, “WTF,” because this was one of those moments.

After a hectic day, Jack went to visit Sawyer, and was a little surprised to find (more…)

Basically, this episode rounded out a tightly knit trilogy of reuniting the principle cast, with the Oceanic 6 dropping on the island two weeks ago, last week’s episode revealing what Locke did back on the mainland and the fact that Locke is alive and well back on the island, and this week we find out what happens to the ragtag group Locke left behind. Just what do Sawyer, Juliet, Jin, Daniel, and Miles do while waiting for Locke’s return? Join the Dharma Initiative.

After one final bright flash, Sawyer decided to lead everyone back down to the beach, for lack of a better plan.

Quick cut to the future (kind of, it’s the past…basically, when Locke fixed the time shifts, he left his motley crew somehow in the year 1974…so that 3 years everyone else spends off the island, this crew spends on the island, in the 70s…confused by that yet?) and two Dharma Initiative members see surveillance videos of Horace Goodspeed (you remember this guy, helped deliver Ben and recruited Ben and his father, Roger, to the Dharma Initiative) drunk out by the sonic fence. They debate going to LaFleur…and eventually do. Turns out LaFleur is Sawyer, now head of security for the Dharma Initiative, and he and Miles head out to take Horace home. Back at Horace’s house, Sawyer talks to Horace’s wife, Amy, who starts going into labor.

Double back to three years ago, while the group is on the way to the beach, they catch sight of a woman and a man being attacked in a field, and while Daniel insists it doesn’t matter what they do, they can’t stop the inevitable (remember, this guy is pretty damn heartbroken), but Sawyer and Juliet step in and kill the attackers, who happen to be Hostiles, and head back with the woman, who happens to be Amy, to her camp. Her husband, Paul, was killed, but they brought the body back after burying the two Hostiles.  At the sonic fence though, she pulls a fast one on them, making it look like she deactivated it, but really she had earplugs in, and the sonic waves knocked them all unconscious.

When Sawyer awoke, he was greeted by Horace. Sawyer fed Horace some bull about how they were shipwrecked while looking for an old slaving ship called the Black Rock, and were looking around the island for the rest of their crew (speaking of which, where the hell are all those other Losties last seen in episode 1?) Horace bought it, and told him that there is a submarine leaving the island in the morning, and they’ll be on it. As for the rest of the crew, Horace assured him that he would keep an eye out for the rest of the crew and send them along if they were found.

Cut back to the future…errr…1977, and that baby is on its way, but as we know, babies don’t do so well in delivering on the island. Well, the babies are okay, but the women not so much. Sawyer went to Juliet, (more…)

Last time we checked, Locke was dead. He was in that coffin at the end of season 3, but we didn’t know he was in that coffin till the end of season 4, and most recently he was still in that coffin (dead!) en route back to the island courtesy of Jack. He’s dead, right? They killed off this pivotal character with at least a season and a half to go before the season finale. Imagine my surprise when the survivors of Ajira Airlines Flight 316, led by new characters Caesar and Ilana, find a very alive Locke standing in the water. How in the sweet chocolate Christ did this happen?

A flashback will settle this issue and fill in some blanks we’ve been waiting for, since roughly the last episode of season 3. We last saw Locke on the island turning that wheel, and now he suddenly appears in the Tunisian desert with a broken leg, monitored by cameras. A truck pulls up and Locke is taken to a small hospital where his leg is reset, quite painfully, and he passes out. He is awakened by a familiar but unexpected face…Charles Widmore. Insert clutch conversation where Charles Widmore is fascinated that the conversation he had with Locke when he was 17 on the island happened only 4 days ago from Locke’s perspective. Widmore goes onto explain that he was once the leader of the Others, but Ben tricked him and exiled him, forcing him to leave the island, which is why Widmore is trying to get back and understands Locke’s need to get the Oceanic 6 back on the island. He assures Locke he’ll do everything in his power to help Locke complete this mission. He further assures Locke that he is in fact special, and that there is a war coming on the island, and if Locke ain’t there, the wrong side is going to win.

With that, Widmore sets Locke up with the false identity of Jeremy Bentham, and assigns Matthew Abaddon (!!!) to escort Locke everywhere he needs to go, and track down everyone he needs to track down. Gee, this feels familiar, Abadon pushing Locke around in a wheelchair. First stop, is Sayid, working for a non-profit organization in the Dominican Republic. Sayid rejects him on the spot, saying he will not return to the island, then telling him that Ben manipulated him into thinking he was protecting the others for 2 years.

Locke’s next visit was to Walt, where Walt (more…)